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Monday, July 16, 2012

Vogue 8819 - Pleated Woven Jacket

I loved this Very Easy Vogue pattern when it came out at the end of April. I immediately ordered it before the BMV sale ended. When it arrived, I was a bit surprised. On the Vogue website, they show the jacket on a live model:

However, when the pattern arrived, there is only a diagram on the envelope:

Strange, no?

Anyway, this pattern went on my short list. I don't have a lot of striped knit fabrics in the stash, and the pattern specifies a knit, so it awaited the perfect fabric.

Meanwhile, some months ago, I ordered a pleated woven fabric from Marcy Tilton. (It's no longer on her site.) This fabric is very interesting. It's reversible - striped on one side, and plaid on the other. Being pleated, it's rather stretchy. However, it's also rather stiff. When I machine washed and dried it, it became even more pleated. I really liked it, but had no idea how to use it, so it marinated.

One day, it occurred to me that I might use the pleated woven for the cardigan. The fabric has lots of ease, due to the pleats, as well as the bias cut. Why not try it? I decided to avoid a dart and take advantage of the bias. The pattern also has a peplum, which can be difficult to fit, so I quickly whipped up a sample garment using black ponte. It needed a few tweaks, but I decided it would work for the pleated woven.

I decided to sew this jacket completely by hand, including felling of the seams so the inside is neatly finished. Sewing a pleated fabric by hand gives you more control of the pleats. It might not have been necessary – I didn't really experiment with sewing the fabric by machine. But I do think that some of the construction would have been much harder by machine. I enjoy hand sewing, and this is a simple garment, but it did take me awhile.

I made the longer version. I cut the pattern out along different size lines: smaller in the shoulder, larger in the bust, and so on.

Alterations and Modifications:

Widened the sleeve. This pattern has a fairly narrow sleeve.

Narrowed the shoulder.

Lengthened the peplum in front to accommodate my bust.

For the back neckline, I used the reverse side of the fabric.

Eliminated the facings. Instead, I finished the front and hem with rayon grosgrain ribbon from Britex.

I didn't have enough fabric for full length sleeves, so I used 3/4 length sleeves and added a contrast band, using the reverse side of the fabric.

The jacket is not designed to have a closure, but I added a single button closure. The perfect button is from Britex and the corresponding button loop is a short length of elastic.

I had some problems with the armscye. Though I widened the sleeve, I found that the armscye is rather snug. It also hit me strangely on the body. The front was too wide and the back too narrow. It took a fair amount of fiddling to get a reasonable fit at the armscye. I will be wearing this over a shell.

Added a patch pocket. I didn't want to distract from the bold graphic design created by the stripes, so I carefully matched the stripes to make the pocket as invisible as possible.

When I cut out the bias, I cut the stripes going in a different direction that shown on the pattern.

Vogue arranged the stripes in a diamond shape. My stripes form an X shape.

In back, Vogue arranged the stripes in a V-shape on top and horizontal in the peplum. My stripes are arranged in an A shape on top and vertical in the peplum.

Conclusion:

I'm happy with my jacket. In fact, I liked the unusual fabric so much, I went back to Marcy's site and bought some in the blue/gray/cream colorway. I think this one should become a pair of pants!

Stunning. Your placement of the stripes is such an improvement on Vogue's (their way looks rather unresolved to me; why should there be that strange diamond right at the waistline?). I am amazed and impressed that you sewed the entire garment by hand, but the matching and the quality of the finish really show the benefits of that approach. Wonderful, wonderful jacket.

Shams, this is just fabulous! and I am super impressed that you sewed the entire thing by hand... y'wanna hear something funny? I have just sewed a little cardigan entirely by hand too... (I haven't taken any pictures and haven't blogged it yet) but it made me smile that we have both been doing extreme hand-sewing in our own corners of the globe :)

Yes, what a wonderful jacket. Your diligence with the hand sewing truly paid off. All of those matching stripes - perfection! Great use of this fabric. The button is a good idea, too.Thanks for the heads up regarding the armscye difficulties you encountered. I plan to use this pattern in a couple of months, and it's always helpful to know what I'm in for ahead of time.

You have created a beautiful jacket. I have this pattern and will be sewing it up soon. Very helpful to know about the alterations you have made and particularly about the armsye. Lovely choice of fabric too! Thank you!

It's a gorgeous, flattering jacket. A great use for an unusual fabric. The pocket is nearly invisible it's so perfectly placed. I too have a need for jackets in my wardrobe and this one is such a good choice I am going to go order the pattern while the sale is still on!

Wowza. #1. LOVE your use of that fabric (brilliant placement of the stripes for your bod!)#2. Hand sewn!? I feel like such a slackard for not even considering doing that on my pleated fabric Soho Coat...you may have inspired me here...#3. I think you are continuing to rock the 'casually elegant' look with this outfit. Looking great!

Shams, thank you so much for this. I have this pattern and am planning to make it for the fall.I will definitely make a muslin.Yours is gorgeous . I love all the little details and the Shams' spin on it. Can't wait to start mine.

Your jacket turned out nice. I love the fabric and you did a great job matching the stripes, even the pocket, but it seems a bit too long for you. IMHO the seam under the bust should be an inch or two higher(closer to the bust), and the hem would look better hitting just at the bottom of the hip. This is only an observation from the photos and may not be accurate. I love your work. You are an awesome seemstress. This one just seems a bit off size.